Mission: Impossible Is Shaping White House Policy Towards AI

If you’re worried that the president signed an executive order simply because he watched a Tom Cruise-starring action spy movie, this isn’t necessarily the case. Joe Biden had, over the past several months, met with scientists who educated him on both the potential benefits and drawbacks of artificial intelligence.

Watching the latest Mission: Impossible movie during some downtime was just the icing on the cake.

Though the misuse of artificial intelligence is a central plot point in the latest Mission: Impossible movie, there are very real dangers involving the technology that need to be addressed, which is why the executive order was drafted.

While we probably don’t have to worry about an unknown villain known as the Entity that’s hellbent on altering our perceptions of reality, Biden’s concerns are still valid nonetheless.

The Mission: Impossible-inspired executive order, which will go into effect sometime between the next 90 and 365 days, places a strong emphasis on safety, security, and privacy.

There are a number of action items on the order, and the primary goal of the legislation is to protect American citizens from the misuse of artificial intelligence by establishing a number of checks and balances on a federal level. In other words, Joe Biden is our Ethan Hunt; just don’t expect him to drive a motorcycle off of a cliff anytime soon.

While national security is an obvious concern, as it is in the Mission: Impossible movies, many action items are centered on protecting consumers from fraud, as well as protecting an individual’s right to privacy. Furthermore, the executive order will look into how the use of artificial intelligence has impacted the workplace for many Americans.

The ongoing Hollywood strikes are evidence enough that certain restrictions need to be established, and workers need to be treated fairly. Artificial intelligence has in many ways altered our perception of how workplaces should operate across a multitude of industries since its conception and subsequent widespread use.

Even the upcoming Mission: Impossible film has paused production as writers and actors fight for better working conditions, representation, and compensation.

The executive order will also make it faster for the US government to purchase artificial intelligence products, as well as hire experts to make sure the technology is implemented safely and securely.

So if we do eventually find ourselves living in the nightmare scenario that Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One illustrates, there will hopefully be safeguards in place that will keep the technology from falling into the wrong hands for nefarious use that could end up violating our constitutional rights.

Though the Mission: Impossible films are very much works of fiction, the latest installment of the iconic franchise is still a cautionary tale about the dangers that present themselves through the insidious misuse of artificial intelligence.

After seeing a realistic deepfake of himself, it goes without question that President Biden would have drafted a similar executive order whether he watched the Mission: Impossible films or not.